Winter Garden resident recalls action at Iwo Jima

Peter Moreno, now 91, reflects on his participation in World War II. He lives in Health Central Park in Winter Garden.

— As a combat medic, Peter Moreno treated many wounded Marines during World War II.

WINTER GARDEN — Peter Moreno walked into the Miami recruiting station in spring 1942, three months after Pearl Harbor was attacked, and volunteered to be a Navy Seal. The 19-year-old was sent to San Diego, California, for naval training, and while waiting to be called to duty, he was instructed that because of his experience, he was being sent to Marine boot camp at Camp Elliott.

So he became a Marine and was assigned to the 3rd Marine Division. After training, 1st Class Petty Officer Moreno, a combat medic, joined the 2nd Marine Battalion and boarded a crowded troop ship headed to the Pacific to participate in the invasion of Guadalcanal during World War II. It was an uneventful landing, the Winter Garden resident said, because most of the Japanese military had retreated into the jungle.

From there, Moreno and his fellow Marines invaded Guam, and because he was fluent in Spanish, he acted as an interpreter between the Marines and the natives, who spoke the Spanish-influenced language of Chamorro.

The island of Iwo Jima was the next stop. 

“We weren’t supposed to invade Iwo Jima,” he said. “They brought us in as reinforcement. We weren’t supposed to be there.”

Moreno was in the second wave of the island invasion; the first wave, he said, was made up of mostly 17- and 18-year-olds, many of whom died as they entered the beach.

As a medic, he treated many wounded Marines. After running out of supplies on Iwo Jima, he had to save the morphine for those in the worst condition. He was also responsible for treating mosquito-borne malaria and dysentery from bad water.

Moreno said he was one of just a few to survive in his division. And although he came close a few times, he received no injuries in the war, he said.

After living through one of the war’s bloodiest engagements, Moreno again boarded a ship — this time, to go home.

“The Golden Gate never looked better,” he said.

The men in Moreno’s division received combat medals and Navy and president’s citations.

Moreno, now 91, lives at Health Central Park, in Winter Garden. He had seven brothers, and four served during World War II. A cousin was a prisoner of war and survived the 63-mile Bataan Death March in 1942.

After the war, Moreno returned to Miami, where he met his future wife, Hazel, on the beach. He began a career with the U.S. Postal Service in Miami, serving as a mail carrier and special-delivery courier. He remained with the post office for 34 years before retiring.

Peter and Hazel Moreno lived in Clayton, Georgia, for five years before coming back to Florida and settling in Clermont and, later, Winter Garden. They have one deceased son, a daughter, a granddaughter and several great-grandchildren.

Contact Amy Quesinberry Rhode at [email protected].

Winter Garden resident Peter Moreno was a combat medic in the Pacific Theater.